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Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Paint it Black: Refashion theme for the month! Cherry dress

Fair warning; this post is bit much. I'm laying on the heavy, sad stuff pretty thick, so reading the words could cause projectile vomit or eyes to roll so hard they fall from their sockets. Proceed!"April is the cruelest month" -T.S. Eliot
Hey... I'm quoting poetry...that's cool for a DIY blog. I do find April to be a difficult time, so I thought I'd class this thing up and add that. Spring is in bloom and the sun is out, but I'm like, "whatever." With each turning page of the calendar, I always find myself remembering where I was the previous year. I remember last April..."Just when you think you've hit rock bottom; the bottom drops out" -VH1's Behind the Music narrator. I remember my boy, Greyson quoting that to me last year when I told him what was going on in life. Starting in the summer of 2012, things started going wrong and by the spring of 2013, the shit storm that was becoming my life was a category 5 hurricane.
A year later, the storm has passed. No more anger or fear. Just quiet solitude and a yearning for the past. I've made many changes, tried new things, and have plenty to be thankful for. But nothing fills the void of what I've lost. I can't help missing the life I used to have and the person I used to be.

That person.

I should probably digress and get to the point here. Sometimes, I miss wrestling, and my former wrestling company, WAW was my pride and joy for so many years. I miss that spotlight, that outlet, and mostly the camaraderie. Last Sunday was the WWE's annual Wrestlemania, which I certainly did not watch; I've lost my interest in one of my favorite old past times, and wrestling pay per views are things people watch in groups. In my old days, Wrestlemania Sunday was like a holiday and friends would gather together and order the show with everyone pitching in to pay. For me, those days are gone.
Not coincidentally, WAW's "wrestlemania" will take place this month. WAW puts on weekly shows, with bimonthly special events. The special-est of all is WAW's Legacy. There were times when the gym would be so full of spectators, people were turned away at the door. It was spectacular. The title of this refashion "series" comes from the Rolling Stones' song that we used (and they probably still use) for the theme song of WAW's Legacy. WAW's Legacy was a time of celebration. We all came together and worked hard to put on the best show of the year. It was a very important part of my life. And I don't have it any more.
So, here's what I'm doing here: I see the spring, but I want to wear black. I'm doing a series of refashioned outfits centered around the theme "Paint it Black." Could I possibly be any more long winded?
For my first edition, I started with this thing:

Hey, that's too big. And it's ugly. I'm pulling on the little ties on each side to give you the full effect.

The bottom of the dress featured red hats with orange ribbons. Why. Of course, when you look up close the bulk of the dress's material features cute, purple cherries. So, that''s cool. Also, I guess I could've ironed before I took that close up.

Naturally, the first thing I did was chop that bottom part off. There are more cherries on the hats, so maybe down the line, I can cut the fruit out and make an applique thing out of it. Next, I had to take it in a bit. From the tag, I found out it was a size 12 and that the dress originally came with a shirt to wear underneath. So, the top was a weird size.

See what I did there? Normally, I would make something smaller by taking in the sides. That didn't work so well, because the sleeve holes were low and would've left too much side boob visible. I folded the dress in half lengthwise and pinned it in the back. That worked, so I sewed it.
I then had to hem the bottom where I cut off the ugly hat border. Anyone who looks at my dresses sees that I like them to come below the knee because I'm ashamed of my white legs. I was kinda disappointed that this dress was going to be a little shorter.

The bustline was a little boring looking, so I gave it a little gather. Like a sweetheart neckline, I think? The picture looks bad because I do this stuff at night. See, I just pinched up a little of the material and pinned it with a safety pin and then hand sewed it like that. There are better ways to make a little gather like that. I do things the quick way.

The fit was still a little bit roomy. So, in that picture, I pointed the camera at myself to show how I just pinched up a little fabric on on each side in the front of my dress and pinned it. Of course, I then had to turn the dress inside out and re pin so I could add those little darts.
Finally, I added a sash to the waist. Because that's what I do. The whole thing was pretty easy. Here's my outfit:

I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colors any more, I want them to turn black

In hindsight, I really should've stuck with black tights to go with the theme. I wanted to bring out the purple of the print. I'm probably also going to regret the inclusion of the song lyrics with the pictures! I guess I'm thinking, "hmm...needs more pretentiousness."
Here are some more, though:

I see a line of cars and they're all painted black
With flowers and my love both never to come back

No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue
I could not foresee this thing happening to you
If I look hard enough into the setting sun
My love will laugh with me before the morning comes

I love the line, "I could not foresee this thing happening to you," because throughout WAW's history, I'm guessing no one would have ever thought that Moody (myself) would ever be this way.